Louis XIV as the Sun in Le Ballet de la nuit (a ballet de cour in four parts, with forty-three enteés). It was first performed at the Salle du Petit Bourbon in Paris on 23 February 1653. The King had first appeared in a ballet two years previously, but this is probably the first time he had danced the role of the Sun, from which he gained his title Le Roi Soleil. His interest in dancing and his skill were to have a profound influence on the expansion of court ballet during his reign. His appearances had a political significance, conveying the King's supremacy.

He was becoming the greatest monarch in Europe, he also happened to be the finest of noble dancers.

It was from the august patronage of Louis XIV, le roi soleil, that dance first acquired the dignity and respect that has surrounded the art of ballet ever since. The formation of the Acadèmie Royal de Danse in 1661 was the first overt expression of royal concern for the standards of dance teaching. Much more significant was the creation by letter patent in 1669 of the Acadèmie d'Opéra -- the seed from which the Paris Opéra has sprung. This second royal initiative was to bring about the transference of the hybrid form of spectacle that then went under the name of ballet from the court to the wider arena of the public stage. It was also to establish theatrical dancing as a profession in it's own right.